Bird, McHale and Parish were the superior trio. My favorite duo of All-Time is Shaq and Kobe. I also feel that they were the best, as far as having two players with talent close to each other on an All-Time scale. If you look at those Lakers teams they won championships with, well, they did not exactly have a lot of help. Not saying that is the entire reason they should be ranked ahead of duo's like Jordan and Pippen or Magic and Kareem, but I rank Kobe #2 and Shaq #3 in my All-Time NBA rankings. They were young enough to have both been in or near their relative primes while playing together, and had they not had personal issues with each other, I think they could have had even more success as teammates beyond Shaq being traded in 2004.

Here are my rankings of all 30 current NBA teams best duo's in team history. The rule is, the players both had to be major contributors to their team while they were playing together (So, none of this, "Well, he played his last few years here with this other great player when he was just about to retire). Also, let's make it since the ABA/NBA merger so their is no quibbling about era's. These would be my defining duo's of these teams:

Atlanta Hawks: Dominique Wilkins and Kevin Willis

Boston Celtics: Larry Bird and Kevin McHale

Charlotte Bobcats: Gerald Wallace and Stephen Jackson (Still early, but they were the best they have had)

Chicago Bulls: Michael Jordan and Scottie Pippen (Kind of a no brainer)

Cleveland Cavaliers: Brad Daugherty and Mark Price (LeBron and Ilgauskas got further, but I do not think Z was ever in the ballpark of LeBron. Shaq, by the time he got to Cleveland, wasn't close either. Yes, I know Z was an All-Star LeBron's rookie year, but truly, that was ridiculous and due to the insistence on having a "true" Center in the game when they do not necessarily deserve to be)

Dallas Mavericks: Dirk Nowitzki and Jason Terry (Yes, Dirk is worlds better than Terry. Also, I am aware that he played with Steve Nash, not to mention Jason Kidd. But, this duo got to a Finals and won a championship. Their may have been players better than Jet that played with Dirk, but the success these two have had as being pretty much options #1 and #2 in their time playing together is incredibly impressive. I am not a Mavericks fan, but if I were, this would be my duo)

Denver Nuggets: Alex English and Dan Issel (Big time scorers who had solid success during the early 80's on some run and gun Doug Moe teams)

Detroit Pistons: Isiah Thomas and Joe Dumars

Golden State Warriors: Tim Hardaway and Chris Mullin (I know it was RUN-TMC with Mitch Richmond making the C, but I remember Mullin and Hardaway being staples for the team for quite a while after Mitch was traded. I would say Rick Barry and Jamaal Wilkes, but they won their title before the merger)

Houston Rockets: Hakeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler (They did not play together until pretty late in their careers, and Hakeem did win a title with Otis Thorpe as his second banana. Regardless, this duo had a lot of success and the reformation of Phi Slamma Jamma won a lot of games. Many will probably say the Twin Towers with Olajuwon and Ralph Sampson, but I will stick with the duo that won a title rather than got to a finals)

Indiana Pacers: Reggie Miller and Rik Smits (Had a lot of winning years with these two being the team centerpieces)

LA Clippers: Danny Manning and Ron Harper (Hopefully Eric Gordon and Blake Griffin will take this spot. Looking at these teams record and history through the years, all I have to say is, woof. They have been a bottom feeder for an incredibly long time. Good luck moving forward, for sure, but Sterling has done a number here)

LA Lakers: Magic Johnson and Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (I do think Kobe and Shaq were better, but 5 beats 3. That is the bottom line, and the reason I feel this is the duo that Laker's fans would probably choose as best duo in team history)

Memphis Grizzlies: Zach Randolph and Rudy Gay (This team has a pretty short history as far as great duo's go. I know that Rudy was not healthy in their play-off run, but if they expect to go further, I think they build around these two players)

Miami Heat: Dwyane Wade and Shaquille O'Neal (All about the 2006 Heat and getting that ring. LeBron and Wade could be better, but not until they atleast match which Wade and Shaq accomplished)

Milwaukee Bucks: Terry C-ummings (I remember it is illegal to type his name without a space. Good thing TJ never made the NBA) and Sidney Moncrief (Unfortunately, Kareem and Oscar were before the merger. Big Dog and Ray are definite possibilities, but I think these guys had more to show as far as winning is concerned)

Minnesota Timberwolves: Kevin Garnett and Wally Szczerbiak (I kid you not. Cassell and Sprewell only played on that one team with KG that went anywhere, before Minnesota took a nose dive. Wally was pretty much a constant since he came into the league and teamed with Garnett. Marbury may be more memorable, but he had more success with Wally. Again, wish the team a lot more success in the future)

New Jersey Nets: Jason Kidd and Kenyon Martin (Not exactly the duo one would think of, and Kidd/Carter or Anderson/Coleman were much more memorable. But, they had solid success together for the early 2000's before Kenyon left)

New Orleans Hornets: Chris Paul and David West (LJ and Zo were fun, but they were never really serious contenders. I think these guys have done a pretty nice job carrying the team the past few years. Although, CP3 may be carrying a much heavier load than West)

New York Knicks: Patrick Ewing and John Starks (Cannot believe this is the best player Ewing really played with in his prime, but I think he was. I was looking along the lines of Charles Oakley, but Oaks lack of scoring on the Knicks is kind of a downer. Houston and Sprewell were more fun, but I think you have to have Patrick Ewing in the duo and he had his most success with Starks as his second guy. Guess we will see how it goes with Melo/Amare)

OKC Thunder (Seattle Supersonics): Gary Payton and Shawn Kemp (They made a couple of Finals pretty immediately after the merger, but those were incredibly balanced teams without a real standout duo. Kemp and Payton were fun and did pretty well as teammates. I am sure Durant and Westbrook might take this spot, if people do not try to send Westbrook out of town in a panic)

Orlando Magic: Shaq and Penny (This looked like the new generation Kareem and Magic. Orlando has not had a better duo since, including anyone Dwight Howard has played with. Also, while McGrady and Hill would have been cool together, it is unknown if they would have gotten as far as Shaq and Penny did in their short time together)

Philadelphia 76ers: Moses Malone and Julius Erving (That 1982-83 76ers team was fire. These guys had three awesome years as a duo and won a title)

Phoenix Suns: Steve Nash and Amare Stoudemire (Yes, they made the Conference Finals one year without Stoudemire. But, the reason people felt they had any possibility at a championship were when these two were playing together)

Sacramento Kings: Chris Webber and Peja Stojakovic (Mike Bibby was incredibly key as well, but Webber and Peja were the All-Stars)

San Antonio Spurs: Tim Duncan and David Robinson (Really the best duo the team ever had. They won the franchises first ring before turning into more of a trio for the next 3, only one of which Robinson was a part of in 2002-03)

Toronto Raptors: Vince Carter and Tracy McGrady (Only had a chance to play one play-off series together, but they looked like the new breed of Jordan/Pippen. I am sure most Raptors fans will remember McGrady likening himself to Pippen, before changing his mind and bolting to Orlando. Have no hard feelings towards T-Mac, but he and Vince were by far the most fun and explosive duo the Raptors had, and we can only wonder what that Conference Semifinals would have been like if T-Mac were still on the Raptors)